The commercialized ’Sunday Morning Service’ and I have a love-hate relationship. For most of us, our idea of church is showing up at a building every Sunday morning at 10:30am, listening to music, putting 10% of our money in a basket, and listening to a preacher talk to us about God.
The reason for going to church is not to appease our conscience, it’s to get encouraged to stay strong for God. But we usually go to church because that’s what Christians are supposed to do.
Acts 2:42-47:
And they devoted themselves to:
- The apostles’ teaching (Sermon)
- The fellowship (Meaningful Friendship)
- The breaking of bread (Communion)
- Prayers (Self Explanatory)
- They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as anyone had need (No one struggled financially without other’s helping)
- And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes (They saw each other at church and at home. Real Friendships)
- They received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people (Always were thankful)
This was the church. We do some of this well, but other things, not so much… For example, our form of ‘fellowship’ is the 5 minutes after receiving the offering and before the preacher starts the sermon, when the preacher tells us to “Say hello to someone you don’t know.”
All of these are areas we need to grow in, but the main thing I wanted to talk about was our idea of ‘Corporate Worship’, or ‘Singing to the Lord‘. We talk about the importance of coming together and corporately worshiping the Lord, but when we get in those moments what is one of the main things the worship leader encourages us to do? “Let’s just sing to the Lord right now with no distractions. Don’t think about the people around you…” We think the most spiritual people in the crowd are the ones who can get their minds off of the person next to them. If we can manage to get in our own world and become oblivious to everyone else there, we are really worshiping. This seems like a wonderful thing until you compare it to the Bible. The Bible actually tells us that we are to encourage each other with songs. We are actually supposed to sing to each other about the character of God. This is true corporate worship, and the reason behind it is to encourage each other to stay strong in the Lord. Here are 5 scriptures I found that support this idea:
“I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried out to him.” (Ps. 22:22-24)
“…I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’” (Is. 6:1-3)
“…When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up” (1 Cor. 14:26).
“…be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...” (Eph. 5:18-19)
“…Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col. 3:15-17)
